Len Wiseman to Direct The Mummy

The film first announced for a reboot earlier this year, Universal Pictures’ The Mummy appears to have found a director in Total Recall and Underworld director Len Wiseman. Deadline has the news, saying that Wiseman will work from Jon Spaihts’ (Prometheus) script and will target a 2014 release.

Universal originally released The Mummy in 1932 and followed it with four sequels between then and 1944, including The Mummy’s Hand, The Mummy’s Tomb, The Mummy’s Ghost and The Mummy’s Curse. In 1955, the studio spoofed the property with Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy and then left the franchise dormant until a big screen reboot in 1999.

Directed by Stephen Sommers, the new The Mummy was followed by The Mummy Returns in 2001 and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor in 2008.

A spin-off series, meanwhile, began on the big screen with 2002’s The Scorpion King and moved to home video for two sequels, the most recent of which, The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption, was released earlier this year.

Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are attached to produce the new film along with a rebooted Van Helsing, set to star Tom Cruise in the lead.